Evolution News and Research

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The importance of the endocannabinoid-system

Cannabis (marijuana) is the most widely produced plant-based illicit drug worldwide and the illegal drug most frequently used in Europe.

15 Oct 2007

New species of fungus

A species of fungus new to science has been discovered on Imperial's Silwood Park campus, and has been named in the campus' honour.

15 Oct 2007

Scientists answer century-old developmental question

Embryologists at UCL (University College London) have helped solve an evolutionary riddle that has been puzzling scientists for over a century.

11 Oct 2007

Natural selection at the genetic level

In a molecular tour de force, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have provided an exquisitely detailed picture of natural selection as it occurs at the genetic level.

10 Oct 2007

Better understanding of what genomic changes paved the way for modern humans

Researchers have answered a similarly vexing (and far more relevant) genomic question: Which of the thousands of long stretches of repeated DNA in the human genome came first?

9 Oct 2007

Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) announced that Dr. Animesh Ray, KGI professor and director of KGI's PhD program, has published a paper in the international online journal PLoS ONE that sheds new light on the evolution of moveable genetic elements, or "jumping genes."

9 Oct 2007

Molecular basis of the cyanide polymorphism

That clover necklace you make for your child could well be a ring of poison.

2 Oct 2007

Protein architectures provide window on the history of life

The present can tell you a lot about the past, but you need to know where to look.

2 Oct 2007

New view of what causes greatest genetic variability among individuals

A study by Yale researchers offers a new view of what causes the greatest genetic variability among individuals - suggesting that it is due less to single point mutations than to the presence of structural changes that cause extended segments of the human genome to be missing, rearranged, or present in extra copies.

27 Sep 2007

Genetic sequence of Giardia complete

Giardia lamblia, one of the most common human parasites in the United States, causes more than 20,000 intestinal infections a year, often through contact with contaminated drinking or swimming water.

27 Sep 2007

Smallpox evolved earlier than believed

Smallpox is older than thought, according to results of a new technique reported in the Sept. 24 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

27 Sep 2007

Mice teeth explain the troubles with human wisdom teeth

During evolution, many of a species' properties are shaped by ecological interactions.

27 Sep 2007

Snake venom composition may change according to the victim

A snake's intended prey might affect the type and evolution of toxins in their venom, research published in the online open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology shows.

27 Sep 2007

Biologists link Huntington's disease to health benefits in young

For years researchers in neurology have believed that people with Huntington's disease have more children than the general population because of behavioral changes associated with the disease that lead to sexual promiscuity.

26 Sep 2007

Molecular fingerprint of breast cancer drug resistance can predict response to treatment

A way of predicting which patients will respond well to treatment with a common chemotherapy drug used in breast cancer was unveiled at the European Cancer Conference (ECCO 14).

25 Sep 2007

Men with deep voices have higher reproductive success

Men who have lower-pitched voices have more children than do men with high-pitched voices, researchers have found.

25 Sep 2007

Social cheating in bacterial communication

Baseball had its steroids and Black Sox. Politics lived through Watergate. Wall Street has been riddled with insider trading scandals. And before we cast the first stone, who among us has never tried to get through an intersection on a yellow light?

25 Sep 2007

Scientists study the spread of ragweed pollen

To a person with a pollen allergy, an 18-acre ragweed field sounds like a sneezy, red-eyed zone of misery. But to two environmental engineering researchers at Johns Hopkins, the parcel presented a rare and valuable opportunity to learn how the troublesome weeds grow, reproduce and scatter their pollen under varying weather conditions.

24 Sep 2007

MIT model could improve some drugs' effectiveness

MIT researchers have developed a computer modeling approach that could improve a class of drugs based on antibodies, molecules key to the immune system.

24 Sep 2007

Is there really a 'mommy' gene in women?

Basic principles of biology rather than women's newfound economic independence can explain why fewer of them are getting married and having children, and why the trend may only be temporary, says a Queen's researcher.

24 Sep 2007